Shooting Near Mosque Leaves One Dead

A shooting near a mosque in Columbus, Ohio, in the United States, left one person dead on Monday (19 October 2026), local time. Police stressed that the incident was not an attack on the mosque or anyone inside it.

Sergeant James Fuqua of the local police said the shooting began with a dispute at an apartment building next to the mosque. The incident took place in the apartment complex’s car park.

“We want to make clear that this was not an attack on the mosque,” Fuqua said, as quoted by The Associated Press on Tuesday (20 October 2026).

Fuqua said an event was taking place inside the mosque when the shooting occurred, but it was unrelated to the incident outside the building.

Federal agents and local police went to the scene after the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said its agents were responding to reports of a shooting in the vicinity of a mosque on the 2200 block of Albert Avenue in Columbus.

Initial information from the ATF said the shooting had been reported at a mosque. Police later clarified that it actually took place in the car park of the apartment complex next to the place of worship.

The ATF did not immediately respond to requests for further information. Police reiterated that the incident did not target the mosque or the worshippers inside.